Vortex Biosciences of Menlo Park, California just launched its VTX-1 Liquid Biopsy System, a device that automates the extraction of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) from whole blood. The filter-free technology is based on microfluidic chips with a series of connected boxes linked by narrow channels.
As blood is carefully pushed through the system, liquid vortexes are created within the boxes. What’s fascinating is that larger cells get trapped in a repeating circular pattern, while smaller cells are not as affected and pass through to the outflow channels.
